Standing Room Only At Pier House

As Rachael Hill presented plans to establish flood management

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Chiswick Mall in flood - picture courtesy of Richard Jennings

Chiswick Pier Trust Winter Programme of Events
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There was standing room only at the Pier House, Chiswick, on Tuesday evening, when more than 80 people were entertained by an eye-opening presentation from Rachael Hill on protecting London and the Thames estuary area from rising sea levels.

Rachael is Technical Strategy Manager for Thames Estuary 2100, the project tasked with establishing a flood management plan. A huge public consultation will be launched throughout the estuary area next month with the aim of having a draft plan ready by December 2008.

The Agency are keen that as many people as possible find out about flood risks and contribute ideas on a variety of options including flooding selected riverside areas, modifying the existing barrier, spending £30billion on a massive barrage or moving London elsewhere. Nobody can be certain what the future holds, so the Agency will cover 4 possible scenarios in the plan, ranging from the most optimistic prediction of around a 1 metre rise in sea level this century to the pessimistic “Al Gore” 4 metre rise.

Rachael debunked some of the myths about flooding, including the commonly held belief that the Thames Barrier will be of no use beyond 2030. She also outlined to the audience the need for more public education on flooding and what to do in the event of a flood. In a survey, more than half of people questioned said they would shelter in the tube if they heard flood warning sirens.

This talk, voted “best talk about the river ever heard” by one of the audience was first in a series of winter talks organised by the Chiswick Pier Trust. The next is on December 3rd and features Dave Rust talking about filming the history of the Griffin Brewery. Call 020 8742 2713 or go to www.chiswickpier.org.uk for more details.

For more information about the Thames Estuary 2100 project, go to www.environment-agency.gov.uk/te2100, email te2100@environment-agency.gov.uk or call 08708 506 506 and ask for the TE2100 team.


 November 2, 2007